Oslo’s Grünerløkka Studenthus is a Student Housing Complex Located in a Former Grain Elevator

The best use for a large grain elevator is - of course - to store grain, but as commercial interests shift over time, many cities around the world are left with big, hulking structures and nothing to store in them. One good option is adaptive reuse. In Oslo,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hrtb.no/">HRTB Arkitekter AS</a> transformed an old grain elevator located along the&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akerselva">Akerselva River</a> into a 19-story student housing complex known as <a href="http://www.sio.no/wps/portal/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gDfwNvJ0dTP0NXAyNDA3-TQE8DKNAvyHZUBADwbAKn/?WCM_PORTLET=PC_7_GR70AB1A0GFS50I6EMKUOJ1004000000_WCM&amp;WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/migration/sio+-+en/housing/your+residence/grunerlokka+student+house">Grünerløkka Studenthus</a>. Using bright panels of colored glass, the architects managed to add a bit of whimsy to the concrete, battleship gray exterior, while leaving most of the original structure intact.

Originally built in 1953, the grain elevator was used to store corn from Oslo's Nedrefoss Mill, and it was in operation from the 1950s to the 1990s.

The structure consists of three rows of seven grain silos -- 21 in all.

In 1993, the local government in the Norwegian capital approved the adaptive reuse project, and in 2001, the building reopened as a student housing complex.

Residents of Grünerløkka Studenthus enjoy excellent views of Oslo, as the 174-foot structure towers over its surroundings.

The building consists of mostly studios and one-bedroom apartments, and unsurprisingly, most of the rooms are round.

The unique building has become an architectural icon, and it won the City of Oslo's Architecture Prize in 2002.